In my personal experience tells me it is NOT a hoax. I’ll explain.

“Speaking of how the paint at that joint holds up, he said it’s designed to be “flexible enough to stay bonded without cracking,” and that his team tested it to make sure it holds up over the life of the car.”

This is an example of what is wrong with the dealership model in the US. It is also an example of what happens when you have a contrived/protected market where not just anyone can partake in the game (direct manufacturer sales for example).

CODE BROWN!

This just reminded me what a stupid and wasteful fucking program ‘Cash for Clunkers’ actually was.  Now I’m going to be mad for about an hour.  Thanks.

yeah no shit... you beat me to it. 

Cool, so you made a case for market manipulation to force a certain type of vote.  brb, getting pop-corn.  

I can not make sense of this take. Why wouldn’t someone who pays a lot of money for a new car care about its reliability? Each time it breaks down or generates an issue that requires a dealer/service visit, it is an inconvenience. That takes time away from the consumer and reduces the value since you are paying for…

This vehicle is further proof at how desperate Ford (Jim Hackett) must be to abandon cars in favor or trucks and SUV’s.  

I believe it should be added that the clutch usages should ‘at least’ be necessary for starting and stopping... Sequential boxes definitely count...

Dang... I’d be interested if you caught me earlier. I’ve started on a project wagon and really don’t have the extra cash or extra roof to cover a turbo truck with. If it were closer, might come look and convince myself but you are 2500 miles away. Sounds like a pretty solid deal if it is similar condition to the one…

I’m not suggesting that at all. I’m simply saying people taking loans out on things they can’t afford and defaulting will become even more prevalent as repair costs for increasingly technologically complex cars increase as well.

Oh wow, a constant mesh, helical gear-set that shows good durability. What an achievement.  Call me when the rest of the car holds up that well.  

I hope your pie-in-the-sky comes through....

Perhaps there will be. My main point was that once those cars with much more expensive repairs start to break, it will exacerbate the problem.  

Just to expand on this a bit, where do you think the ‘value’ of more modern cars is going to end up in the used market? Idiots are paying over $36k on average for a new car and even more for full size trucks. It isn’t going to leave a market where there is an abundance of 10 year old cars for $5k anymore. Also, much…

Keep in mind that the EU generates policies that many people in ‘America’ clamor for.  So, with that in mind, it does worry me a reasonable amount.  

Neutral: I bought my last new car (2006 STI) in December of 2005. Got 6 years for 0.9% (~$1000 in total finance charges over the 6 years). I haven’t purchased a new car since because the cost of technology and my total lack of desire for it on new cars along with raising interest rates and aggressive pricing has…

It fine, remember that it comes with a sport automatic.  Why would you want anything else?

Planned obsolescence is incredibly frustrating and stupid.